


iced latte

by magearna



Series: college/soulmate au [2]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, POV Second Person, originally posted on AFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-06-09 22:29:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6926212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magearna/pseuds/magearna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>college + soulmate au with a spoonful of a barista au // in which you live in a world where everyone has a soulmate timer on their wrist, which keeps track of time from the moment you're born and only stops when you meet your soulmate. // the loud construction by your apartment leads you to a nearby café and to a fateful encounter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	iced latte

**Author's Note:**

> whoops i said i was going to upload this from aff the day after bloom was posted but life got busy....sorry....

The sound of construction intensifies and you hiss as you hear the whirr of machines under your window.

Construction was happening on the road right by your apartment and it just so happened to take place on a day where you had to buckle down and take notes from your history textbook. Your roommate had warned you to leave the apartment if you wanted to get any work done, just like the rest of the students who lived in the same building.

A sigh escapes your lips as your forehead makes contact with the wooden surface of your desk. Your roommate was right; if you wanted to be productive today, it meant getting dressed and going to a nearby coffee shop where there would be no construction noises.

Ten minutes later, you found yourself changed into somewhat nicer clothes and you pack your backpack with your laptop, charger, and history textbook. Once you slip your shoes and backpack on, you lock your apartment and make your way to the nearby café everyone in your classes has been raving about.

 

As you start on your walk to the café, you couldn’t help but glance down at the timer embedded on your wrist. That timer had been keeping track of time from the moment you were born and would only stop when you met your soulmate. You couldn’t help but feel conscious sometimes – while you were in your first year in university, your timer was still ticking. People reassured you that it was common for soulmates to meet during university or even when school was done.

But several people you went to high school with had already met their soulmates and you couldn’t help but feel like an outlier amongst the people your age whose timers already stopped.

However, you force yourself to push the thought out of your mind. While you would rather daydream about your soulmate, you needed to worry about finishing the history notes you had fallen behind on. Procrastination already had you under its claws and you definitely needed to get your act together.

–

Carat Café was newly built in the neighborhood and was only four months old. It was popular with university students who needed their daily caffeine, as it was near the campus. Your friends said that their coffee was great, the interior was stylish, and that the baristas were particularly good-looking. But you weren’t there to ogle at baristas, even if everyone said that they were attractive – you were there to get your work done with a good cup of coffee.

You push the door open to Carat Café and the bell hung above tinkled to announce your arrival. The café had minimalistic interior, entirely white and contrasted with black. To your surprise, the café was not crowded; there were only a few people with their heads bent over their textbooks or laptops.

 _It’s probably because of the warm weather outside_ , you thought as you make your way to the counter. _People probably wanted to enjoy their drinks under the sun._ You don’t blame them – you’d rather be outside enjoying the weather instead of doing schoolwork indoors.

The barista looks up from his phone once he notices you approach and you blink. He was _tall_ and you have to look up in order to make eye contact with him. But you immediately regret looking up at him because he gives you a charming grin with his fangs poking out and it somehow flusters you.

Your friends were right – the barista in the café was good looking.

“Hi, what can I get for you today?” The barista asks with a smile.

“U-um, I’ll take an iced latte and a chocolate hazelnut donut,” you respond shyly, hoping that the barista didn’t hear your nervousness and you hand him a few bills from your wallet as you balance your opened backpack on one shoulder.

He gives you your change and his fingers briefly brush against your palm and you swiftly pocket the change in embarrassment.

“It’ll be ready in just a moment.” The barista says with another smile and you nod.

You watch him take one of the donuts from the display case with tongs, place it on a black plate, and hands it to you. You mumble a “thanks” as you take the plate with one hand and the barista gets started on making your drink.

 _He’s cute_ , you think as you watch him make your iced latte deftly from behind the counter. Since the barista was taller than you (you estimate that he was at least 180 cm or taller), you were able to see his nametag. Contrasting the white background of the nametag was _Mingyu_ written in black. He was dressed in a light blue button down shirt rolled up at the sleeves, dark jeans, and an apron was tied around his waist. His brown hair fell over his eyes as you watch him pour the espresso into the tall glass of ice and milk.

Mingyu gives you another charming grin as he hands you the tall glass of iced latte with a straw placed inside. “An iced latte for you.”

You take the glass in a free hand and you mumble a “thanks” before you scurry to the closest empty booth. You settle down into the soft black leather seat with your donut and drink, fishing out your laptop and powering it on. You needed to focus – you had work to do instead of getting embarrassed by a (cute) barista.

From behind the counter, you don’t notice Mingyu glancing down at his wrist and certainly not the smile appearing on his face as he looks in your direction.

–

An hour and a half passes by in a flash and you sigh, finally glancing up from your laptop screen. Going to Carat Café to get your work done was a good idea – you finished the work you had been struggling to finish in your apartment and was getting a head start on a different assignment. The café was mostly quiet with only a scattering of conversations and soft music playing through the speakers. It was a contrast to the annoying construction noises that were coming from the road beside your apartment and the peaceful atmosphere let you easily concentrate.

 You run a hand through your hair, deciding that you deserved a good ten-minute break before continuing your work. You dig out your phone from your pocket, about to unlock the screen to play your virtual cat collecting game when a voice speaks up from your right.

“Working hard or hardly working?”

You look up from your phone and you squeak in surprise. Mingyu looks down at you teasingly, his arm resting on the top of the broom handle.

You splutter both in protest and in surprise. “H-hey, I worked for an hour! I’m just having a break.”

Mingyu laughs at your response. “I know, I saw.”

Warmth surges through your cheeks in embarrassment. “You saw?”

“It’s hard not to see you making a frown at your laptop screen,” Mingyu shrugs and gives you another fanged grin. “What are you studying?”

“World history, actually.” You reply. “Not my major though, just an elective.”

“Ah,” the tall barista nods. “Why did you choose history as an elective?”

A soft smile appears on your lips. “I just like learning about things that happened in the world. It’s interesting.”

“That’s true.” Mingyu extends a hand out to you. “I’m Mingyu, by the way. I’m guessing you also go to the university down the road?”

You nod while you give him your name and shake his hand, which was big and warm. Mingyu smiles at you brightly and you feel yourself smile back – his smile was infectious.

Mingyu clears his throat before speaking. “So, uh–“

“Yes?”

Before he can continue, a loud call of his name is heard coming from the counter. Both of you turn and you see a short boy with pastel pink hair and round glasses scowling at Mingyu’s direction.

“Customers.” The boy says crossly and Mingyu nods before turning to you.

“Well, I have to go,” Mingyu smiles before patting you lightly on the shoulder. “Good luck with your history homework, soulmate.”

“Oh, thanks!” You turn your head back towards your laptop, fingers hovering over your keyboard.

 

_Wait…what did he just say?_

 

You whip your head to the direction of the front counter as Mingyu resumes his position from behind the espresso machine. “What did you just –“

You’re not sure if Mingyu doesn’t hear you or if he’s just pretending not to as the espresso machine hums to life and you instantly look down at your wrist.

_Your soulmate timer had stopped without you noticing and Mingyu the barista had called you his soulmate._

Both of your hands immediately fly to your cheeks as you try to process what just happened. _My timer stopped? He called me his soulmate?_ ** _We’re_** _soulmates?_

You try to calm your racing heart and you crane your head to sneakily look at Mingyu. The barista looks up from the espresso machine, catching you staring, and flashes a grin to your direction, which sends your heart racing once again.

–

You prop your elbow on the table, resting your chin on your palm as your other hand scrolled through pages of notes on your word processor. It was 4:30 in the afternoon and most of your work was completed even though you were completely flustered for a good ten minutes. You sneakily glance to your right to where the front counter was and feel your heart sink.

Mingyu was gone.

Another sigh escapes your lips for the umpteenth time that day and you mentally curse yourself for not getting your _soulmate_ ’s number before he got off work. You pout as you continue scrolling; you were hoping that Mingyu would drop by your table before leaving and say bye or exchange contacts at least since he was the one who said that you two were soulmates in the first place.

But there's always next time and you finally knew where to find him. _I'll get his number next time_ , you promise to yourself as you click the "save" button on your word document.

“Why the long face?”

You look up from your laptop screen and your eyes widen. Mingyu smirks at your surprised expression while seated across the table, his chin also resting on the palm of his hand.

“Wh…what are you doing here?” You ask in surprise. _I thought he left already?_

“Did you think I left already?” Mingyu asks and he chuckles at your guilty look. “Ouch, that hurts.”

You mumble, avoiding his gaze guiltily. “Well, I didn’t see you so…”

Mingyu gives a cough. “So…like I was saying earlier before Jihoon-hyung called me…”

“Yeah?”

“Well..." Mingyu begins. "I was wondering if you were free to go out for dinner.”

Your cheeks flush pink at the offer. “Right now?”

The tall boy smiles upon seeing your expression. “Whenever you’re free.”

“Hm…” you take a moment to pretend to think and tap your lips with your index finger. “I think I’m free right now, so…”

Mingyu grins happily at your response and you can’t help but smile too as you start to pack your belongings into your bag. He stands up first and helps you up, offering you his arm. You take it with a smile and the two of you push open the doors of the café and step out into the street.

  


End file.
